Being the part of the body that removes waste, the bladder is an integral part of our body. As the organ that stores urine, and thus helps remove excess nutrients and waste products from the body, the bladder plays an integral role in many bodily functions.

Bladder cancer can be of three main types, depending on which area of the bladder it forms in, and what type of cells are affected. There are no exact causes of bladder cancer but there have been many risk factors that have been identified to increase the chances of bladder cancer which include use of tobacco, infections or irritations in the bladder, age, gender and possibly family history. Tobacco users are said to be at twice to thrice the risk of developing bladder cancer than others. Although a person may have one or more of the above mentioned risk factors, they are not definite causes for developing the disease. Symptoms of bladder cancer include needing to urinate often, pain during urinating, and blood mixed with urine. Again, having these symptoms does not mean that bladder cancer is present, as infections, bladder stones and benign tumours can cause similar symptoms, but it is advisable to check with a doctor if symptoms like such appear. Doctor's use physical tests, urine tests and, in some cases, biopsies, to diagnose the cause of symptoms that appear. In most cases biopsies can be the best way to say if a patient has bladder cancer or not.

There are four stages of bladder cancer, separated by how far the cancer has spread. Stage 0 is when the cancer cells appear only in the inner lining of the bladder, whereas Stage IV is when the cancer cells have spread through the body and reached other organs, like the lungs or pelvis. The three stages in between refer to how far the cancer cells have spread in the bladder or to the rest of the body, in their various levels.

There are a range of treatments for bladder cancer which patients can ask their doctor's about, from chemo or radiation therapy to surgery. A combination of all these therapies can also be used. It is always better to ask for the doctor's advice on which kind of treatment would work best for the patient. As an after-effect of bladder cancer treatment, patients may lose their appetites or suffer from nausea but it is important for patients to be able to take in proper nutrition into their body so that they have enough calories and protein. Talking to a doctor or dietician will give the patient more information on the diet that the patient needs to follow, so that recovery can be made faster and easier.